


It’s Good To Have Influential Friends

by My_Alter_Ego



Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: A reworking of a White Collar episode, Disappointment, Gen, restrictions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28769940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Alter_Ego/pseuds/My_Alter_Ego
Summary: Neal wants a night off, but it just ain’t happening.
Relationships: Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	It’s Good To Have Influential Friends

“C’mon, Peter. It’s just one evening, actually just a few hours, outside my radius,” Neal wheedled. He really wanted to go to a one-night gallery exhibit of intriguing paintings by a new artist on the scene named Jess Cavanaugh.

“And for the last time, Neal, the answer is still the same. No.” Peter replied in a tired voice.

“I think that’s totally unfair considering I just helped you take down a ring of counterfeiters and make the Bureau look good,” Neal continued to argue.

“That’s our job, Buddy, and you don’t get a reward or a gold star pasted on your collar to signify that you did good work,” Peter rebutted.

“Now you’re just being annoyingly patronizing,” Neal frowned.

“If you’ve got a beef, take it upstairs to the complaint department. Hughes hasn’t left for the day yet,” Peter informed his CI.

“That’s a lost cause, and you know it,” Neal griped. “Both June and Elizabeth offered to go with me, but he shot them down.”

“Because neither of those ladies is an FBI agent with the authority to supervise you,” Peter explained yet another time.

“I don’t need to be supervised,” Neal whined. “I just need somebody next to me with enough enthusiasm to enjoy new and innovative art.”

“If that’s a potshot at me, it’s falling on deaf ears,” Peter snarked. “Look, Neal, I’d take you if I could, but I’m stuck here because I have to do the paperwork from our latest arrests. So, since _you_ now have nothing to do, you might as well settle in and keep me company.”

When Neal looked rebellious, Peter added, “It is what it is, so no defiant looks or sulking.”

~~~~~~~~~~

That tedious paperwork lasted well past eleven pm, even with Neal giving Peter a hand. Finally, everything got squared away. Peter put on his jacket and prepared to head home, while Neal decided he was long past being hungry, but maybe a nightcap was the way to go. There was an intimate and unpretentious little tavern near Riverside Drive that he favored, and it had become his usual haunt for some quiet downtime. It was sparsely populated tonight, as usual, and a tired Neal was leaning on the bar when someone touched his shoulder lightly. He turned to see a thin, bearded young man smiling at him.

“Neal Caffrey?” the newcomer asked tentatively.

“Who’s asking,” a wary Neal wanted to know.

“Me, I’m asking,” the stranger’s grin grew wider. “My name’s Jess Cavanaugh,” he added as he stuck out his hand. “I met a very lovely lady tonight named June Ellington, and she told me about another artist who, I assume, is you. She said that you had to work late tonight and couldn’t get to my exhibition, but she guessed you might stop here after you finished up at your job.”

“Wow, small world,” Neal managed to murmur what now sounded inane to his own ears.

“June is such a kind and generous patron with a discerning eye, and I’d do anything for her,” Cavanaugh explained. “So, since you missed my first big splash into the New York art world, how about I show you my other stuff? I have a studio nearby, but I have to warn you that a lot of paintings are what I euphemistically label works in progress.”

“That’s sounds a lot like my life,” Neal chuckled. “Lead the way, my new friend.”


End file.
